These are a few of my favourite things

[NornaBiron]

If you must have peanut butter and can't source it try making your own - put unsalted peanuts in a food processor and grind until they reach the consistency that you want. You may need to add a small amount of water at the start to get them going.

For chilli powder just dry any chillies that you manage to scrump (or grow) and grind. Store in an airtight jar in a dark place.

[Nadineon31]

Originally Posted by xeon_tsd

What did you wish you provisioned more of before leaving for the great beyond?

What do you regret not getting more of before leaving X place?

Yes this will will be largely influenced by where your from and is very personal i get it.. but there ya go.

What a great idea to raise these sort of questions! We are at least 18 months away from our GReat Adventure but I have already started paring down from a big home. Also, making lists, rough ones at that, of what I think most important to include amongst the provisioning. I am an avid list maker and have been accused of making lists of my lists but hey ho...
Vinegar to be used as a general cleaner all over the boat,
Spray bottles to be used to dispense things like vinegar and of course a weak solution of baby shampoo to spray on feet and hands after a sea shower
Tea tree oil to dab on feet (toenails etc in case of cuts or as an antibacterial)
Paper toweling with the cardboard insert removed
And.... Just as an emergency - alongside the list of recipes I love and will make over and over again, I have listed a separate list of ingredients which can be subbed for fresh in an emergency or for when fresh is not available. I.e fish pie with a mashed potato topping and green peas can all be made from the store cupboard easily.
I will take a sprouting kit and the necessary seeds so that salads and stir fries always have fresh crunchy greens in them.
What else?
I love this type of thread

[PuttingDoctor]

More bourbon ... I hate running out.


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[PortClydeMe]

Originally Posted by PuttingDoctor

More bourbon ... I hate running out.

Agreed!, as well as single-malt Scotch, my humidor of aged Cuban cigars, and my favorite foods. Hence, my desire for huge freezer capacity and a genset.

However, here's one that I haven't seen mentioned: A hobby. Personally, I need something to keep the brain engaged outside of sun, fun, sails, and cocktails. For some, that hobby might be something as simple as reading. Mine is recording original music. Onboard, I will have one electric guitar and one acoustic guitar, and have already been planning on how to convert a "crew cabin" into my floating "home studio". In fact, it's quite amazing the quality of recordings that can now be produced at home. A loaded Mac, ProTools Software, some very good Shure mics & very expensive Neumann mics, outboard gear, headphones, and good studio monitors. Serious fun and brain engaging diversion while floating at sea. I will also have my 100-watt Marshall amp head and a 2-speaker cab loaded with Celestians for those times anchored with no other humans within miles from my yacht. Bring the amp and cab to the cockpit and rock via wireless at FULL volume from anywhere on the deck.

Like an audio advertisement that screams "Please come and rob me!"

But seriously, whether it be growing spices, knitting, crosswords, writing a novel, or recording original music, I feel most people would benefit from a hobby that keeps the neurons firing.

[Nadineon31]

Hobby oh yes! I wouldn't be able to function without reading, crochet and knitting. Blogging seriously is also big. I love food and recipes and welcome the challenge of cooking aboard, embracing different cooking styles and ingredients wherever we are, then writing about it. Adventures in the galley I suppose. Which brings me to the next "cannot do without" - my bread maker and decent coffee beans for the coffee maker.

[barnakiel]

Somehow I found nearly anything I thought I would miss I was able to substitute with whatever was available along the way ...

In a way, our 'must have' onboard supplies limit our ability to explore 'what is'. And without exploring whatever there is, why leave our home place in the first place?

Take your credit cards and some cash, anyways. The more, the better ;-)

b.

[PortClydeMe]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

...In a way, our 'must have' onboard supplies limit our ability to explore 'what is'. And without exploring whatever there is, why leave our home place in the first place?

Personally, I think doing both is entirely possible. Why separate and take a minimalist approach? It's all very zen-like, yet one has nothing but time when living aboard and sailing. Sample the local grits for lunch, then go back to the boat and fire-up the BBQ for some nice NY sirloins for dinner. Plenty of time to break away from the onboard wide-screen to do out-back exploring and rubbing shoulders with the locals.

[RainDog]

It is noT just a matter of what you eat, but at what cost. For example canned veggies are readily available where I am now, but at 3x the cost of the U.S. I could buy them here, or live without vegetables, but either are poor choices IMHO.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by PortClydeMe

Personally, I think doing both is entirely possible. Why separate and take a minimalist approach? It's all very zen-like, yet one has nothing but time when living aboard and sailing. Sample the local grits for lunch, then go back to the boat and fire-up the BBQ for some nice NY sirloins for dinner. Plenty of time to break away from the onboard wide-screen to do out-back exploring and rubbing shoulders with the locals.

I will agree. Adequate long term onboard storage of paramount importance then.

Neither Grand Marnier nor Creole Shrubb go stale ... then again they fail to store long term on my boat ... ;-)

b.

[a64pilot]

I haven't lived aboard yet, but I have lived abroad for years. What I missed that could be brought with me was cultural food I grew up with. in no particular order, Grits, Country ham, boiled peanuts, cane syrup. These I had people send to me on occasion.
Then there were a few items that your just not going to get, mine was an Icee, your just not going to find frozen Coca-Cola in some places, and you can't make it yourself, nor can you have it shipped to you.

[DefinitelyMe]

Pickled Cockles. The last time i had the opportunity i bought as many as i could carry and hid them all over the boat in odd places so that i wouldn't remember where i'd put them. Every now and then i get a wonderful surprise when one is discovered in the medicine cabinet, or inside a sock in a long-forgotten drawer :-).

Also, more confit duck (comes in cans and is just incredible!) and more cured meat from the Canary Islands........ mmmmmmm

[cabo_sailor]

As some have mentioned, a fascinating thread. One topic which has not been brought up is how to store those goodies for max life.

For example, I like cheese so I would buy a wedge of parmigiana, cheddar or something and find that I could never finish it before it became a biology experiment. Then I read somewhere that if you wrapped the cheese in wax paper and then plastic wrap it would keep for months. I tried it and it worked. You can also store cheese in jars filled with oil. I store peeled chunks of ginger root in jars filled with sherry. The ginger remains crunchy, the sherry can be used by itself to give a slight ginger flavor to many recipes.

Thank you all for your thoughts.

Ps: we too use the stainless insulated French press. Broke too many of the glass ones.

Rich


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[RainDog]

Love the ginger in Sherry idea. Going to try that one. Maybe with Sake.

[cabo_sailor]

Along the lines of hobby mine is drawing and water color. Takes very little space and lots of time.

I'm also a big fan of the vacuum food savers. Besides food I also seal some of my spare parts.

Rich


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[xeon_tsd]

Originally Posted by cabo_sailor

Along the lines of hobby mine is drawing and water color. Takes very little space and lots of time.

I'm also a big fan of the vacuum food savers. Besides food I also seal some of my spare parts.

Rich


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Yup on the vacuum bags. I store batteries in them broken down into different qty bags. (2 in some, 3 in some 4 in some)